State Lotteries run a host of different products, the more popular of which can be categorized as either active, on-line games or passive games. Lotto, Keno, and three or four digit games are typical active, on-line games which offer the benefit of allowing the consumer to choose their own numbers, Consumers frequently use numbers that are meaningful to them, such as birth dates, addresses, or other numbers. By selecting their own numbers they are actively involved in the outcome. However, with such on-line games the consumer must wait for a drawing to determine if they have won.
Passive games consist of instant games and preprinted drawing games. In a typical instant game, a preprinted ticket, frequently referred to as a scratch ticket, contains a concealed game play. The consumer scratches off the entire concealment, revealing the game play, which may result in the consumer winning the prize printed on that ticket. The most common game play requires a match three of six prize amounts to win that prize. Consumers enjoy playing the instant ticket because they instantly know when they have won. However, the instant ticket is a passive product offering no true player involvement in the selection process.
There is, however, one type of instant game known as a probability game where the player can affect the outcome. In a probability game, every game ticket contains a winning combination, allowing the consumer to choose what they hope will be the winning combination. In a probability game the consumer is instructed to scratch off only a portion of the concealed game play. For example, an instant ticket could contain nine concealed blocks. The instructions would advise the consumer to remove the covering from only three blocks. If the same prize amount appears under all three blocks uncovered by the player, the player wins that prize. Player involvement is created since every ticket does contain a winning combination if the proper selection is made. Fast food restaurant, convenience stores, and supermarkets frequently use probability games for promotional purposes, but at these locations the prize is of limited value, e.g., a free soft drink. While this style of play is quite popular among consumers, its use is avoided by most state and commercial lotteries for substantial prizes because of the relative ease with which both consumers and retailers could compromise the ticket. This can be done by making small scratches in the covering in an effort to discern the data hidden below the covering. Although in theory a compromised ticket should be detectable by visual inspection or with the use of scanning equipment, many might escape detection and, even where detected, it would be difficult to prove if the scratches were made intentionally or accidentally though normal handling.
This invention comprises a ticket for and a method of conducting a probability game that can be used for instant lottery applications without the security risks normally associated with such games. Prior to generating the game tickets, the lottery or commercial entity decides what prizes they will offer and the frequency of those prizes appearing in the overall lottery. The total payout is determined based on standard statistical (probability) formulas. Based on this information, a computer is utilized to make a random selection of the number and/or symbol for each ticket that is that ticket""s winning number and the placement on the ticket of that winning number and/or symbol. Once the data is generated, an independent accounting firm verifies that each ticket does in fact contain a winner and that the placement of those winning numbers on the entire production run of tickets is without a pattern. When the verifications are completed satisfactorily, the tickets are printed and/or the data can be loaded to an on-line data base.
These tickets consist of three separate parts, the game play portion containing numbers and symbols, a sequential ticket number and a validation number. The validation number is covered with an opaque, scratch off covering if the game is to be preprinted and sold in a continuous strip of tickets. If the game is used in an on-line game, the validation is not covered. The consumer can telephone to access the lottery computer and by using the telephone number pad to input the ticket data and the consumer""s number/symbol choice, learn the prize being offered with that particular ticket and whether or not the number/symbol selected is a winner. The consumer can then take the ticket to the ticket seller or other lottery center where the ticket can be verified as a winner by the seller and the prize paid.